American Legal System

Chris Welsh, Esq. www.welsh-law.com Forced arbitration affects everyone. From the apps you buy to your job contract, chances are you have signed away your right to trial. What’s more, forced arbitration too often takes advantage of people that need the most help, and most respect. A new report by the NY Times exposes the harsh reality of forced arbitration’s reign. Their investigation has revealed that big corporations, even USAA and JPMorgan Chase, are using fine print to erase liability for violating the federal rights of veterans and servicemembers. The stories are widespread and gut-wrenching: servicebmembers facing abrupt repossession while away …

Brian Nettles, Esq. As far as government agencies go, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) ranks high. With diligence and resilience, they continue to challenge and dismantle a system that burdens the working class. From Wall Street and predatory lending, to American student debt and mandatory arbitration, Elizabeth Warren’s CFPB is fighting financial injustice on all fronts. However, behind the agency are people like you and me. Much of the CFPB’s agenda is influenced by advocacy by public groups and individual consumers. Due to growing public opposition to forced arbitration, the CFPB investigated the issue and recently released it’s second …

Chris Welsh, Esq. welsh-law.com A county jury in Iowa has awarded a former truck driver $25 million in punitive damages in a case against his workers’ compensation insurance provider. The driver, Toby Thornton, 37, of Clayton County Recycling was paralyzed in a front the chest down in a trucking accident, after which his employer’s insurance company fought his claim for compensation benefits for years, even denying that he was paralyzed. The Pottawattamie County jury found that the American Interstate Insurance for acted in bad faith in its handling of Thornton’s claim, and awarded Thornton $25 million in punitive damages and …

Chris Welsh, Esq. welsh-law.com Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg has so far determined that the now notorious GM ignition switch defect, which was found to shut off the airbag and power steering, is responsible for 56 deaths. The new total has been climbing since the Jan. 31st deadline to submit claims to the compensation fund, which was set up due to the sheer size of the GM issue. Feinberg directed other mass compensation funds for other great tragedies, including the September 11th fund and one for the BP oil spill. As part of the process, those who submitted their claim for …

Chris Welsh, Esq. www.welsh-law.com A Philadelphia state court jury has ordered Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. to pay more than $2.3 million in damages to a plaintiff suffering bladder cancer. The plaintiff is the fifth Actos victim to be awarded damages by a jury. Jury members found that Japan-based Takeda failed to adequately warn the plaintiff’s doctors about the drug Actos’s cancer risks. Actos, also known as Pioglitazone, is a drug used to treat adults with type 2 diabetes and poses risk of heart failure, heart attack, and bladder cancer. Despite thousands of lawsuits, the FDA has yet to recall the drug …